Alphabet Soup
by FreekyDisaster18
Summary: "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together..." twenty six prompts, unlimited words, one couple... Mini-adventures for Stuart/Ewan. Slash. Of the soft kind.
1. Addiction

**AUTHORS NOTE: Dudes, I'm back. Fanfiction can try and suspend me as much as they want... FD18 will always return. Lee and I, as you're already aware, are participating in an alphabet challenge. These are the 26 words she gave to me! It also provided me chance to give Stuart/Ewan some loving again!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own this, nor do I own my stories apparently...**

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**[Addiction]**

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"_Everyone has an addiction..."_

The simple statement voiced that afternoon by Robbie had been running through Stuart's mind all afternoon. He was aware that the other man had only stated such an unproven fact because Jackie was riding him again about his list of addictions – because boy, was that a bloody list and a half by now! - but it had got him thinking. Did everyone have an addiction? And if this was so, what was his addiction?

If he thought about his team, his family, and their addictions, he could pinpoint their addictions perfectly.

Jackie liked to chew gum obsessively, she bought expensive shoes that she knew she'd never get a chance to wear and she loved to pick and tease at Robbie – not really an addiction but it was definitely one of Jackie's. Jenny liked to psychoanalyse everything, she memorised every case as if it was something you'd need for a pop quiz and she drank diet Irn Bru as if it was going to run out or something. Again, not so serious but they were things she liked doing and happened nearly every single day. Burke... Well Burke is a closed book really. Could you state that he was addicted to drinking? He had one or two glasses of whiskey a night but does that constitute as an addiction? Stuart was sure it did. Duncan's addiction was vanilla ice cream which he always kept in one of the spare freezers in the morgues as well as reading one new medical journal each night. But no one had addictions as bad as Robbie.

As already stated, Robbie had quite a few addictions in his repertoire. The most infamous, of course, being his addiction for gambling. How many times had he succumbed to Lady Luck and had lost? God, Stuart had lost count now of how many times his friend had ended up penniless, nearly homeless and then, finally, without any real members of family left because of his problem. Thankfully, gambling was an addiction that Robbie had overcome but that had just been replaced with so many more. There was the drinking, smoking and bringing home women half his age to have emotionless sex with. It seemed not a day went by when Robbie didn't have at least one of those three things to curl up with at night, or on most nights he had all three! Robbie, however, made the addictions work and, like stated, had overcome the worst of them.

So what could Stuart state his addictions were?

He didn't drink, smoke or gamble. Girls... Well girls had most definitely never been something he had to worry about being addicted to. He never chewed gum, shoes were only bought when he needed a pair urgently and he didn't like to drive Robbie insane but thought that maybe he should try it a little more. The only way Stuart psychoanalysed someone was when he was in a dangerous situation, sometimes talking about someone's problems to said person really helps save your own skin, and even then, he tried to avoid those situations like the plague. Case files weren't high on his homework list and diet Irn Bru, in his opinion, was completely sacrilegious. If you're going to drink the most popular drink from Scotland then at least drink it full sugar! Seriously, was it a lot to ask?

Moving into the house, he smiled as he saw Ronan and Ewan tangled up on a twister board in the middle of the living room. Ewan was reaching out with his free foot, desperate to spin the arrow with a toe, while Ronan giggled for him to hurry up because she couldn't keep bearing his weight all night. This just got her a indignant grunt before he told her that her 'fat' father needed to put his right hand on a red circle so he'd be balancing on her even more. She just squealed as they toppled over at the move, Ewan landing flat on their small daughter but turned over so that he could start tickling her. "Is your father fat?"

"Yes!" She squealed loudly causing the torment to worsen and her pleas to get louder for him to stop, a warning that she was going to pee, before eventually she squealed. "No! Father, you're not fat! I promise. Not fat!" In between a mix of giggles and squeals. Stopping the torment, Ewan grinned down at her before pressing a kiss to her lips.

"The neighbours phoned the police and mentioned something about someone being murdered in here...?" He teased causing them both to look up at him, their smiles widening at his light joke as Ewan moved to rise to his feet and pulling their younger daughter up with him. Watching them hug each other, Stuart realised that he did have an addiction. And it was the best kind of trip. It was seeing his husband, the gangster turned father, smiling and having fun with their young daughter. It was witnessing Ronan, a once shy and abused child, letting go of all her vulnerabilities and just having fun like any child should do.

"What's the silly smile about?" Ewan asked as he grabbed hold of his husband's wrist, pulling him into their hug and taking his lips in a kiss – purposefully crushing Ronan in between them causing her to squeal again.

"I just worked out what my addiction is," he simply stated running his hands through Ronan's ginger locks, a kiss being pressed to the top of her head before she twirled around so that her arms were now wrapped around Stuart's waist. He knew that his husband wouldn't understand the reference having not been there for Robbie's comment nor being a witness at Stuart's monologue but he watched as Ewan's face split due to an ear-to-ear grin.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"You two," he stated as he ruffled his daughter's hair, a kiss being pressed against Ewan's lips again, "I don't know how I would survive if I didn't get my daily fix of you two."

"And baby, I don't know how we would either..." Ewan promised before taking his lips again, scrunching Ronan into another bear hug causing her to squeal into Stuart's stomach and he couldn't help but laugh as he took a small step back so that she could escape but his lips didn't leave Ewan's – another addiction, maybe?


	2. Bubble

**AUTHORS NOTE: So Lee is kicking my ass at this game! I'm going to have to get a bloody jog on! Here's my letter 'B' in my alphabet challenge. This is not a chronological story, we will be flashing back like you don't know what – depending on what the word is. Just so you know.**

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**[Bubble]**

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Lying down on the bed, Stuart and Ronan were mesmerised by the rainbow coloured bubbles that floated from the small machine on his bedside table over them and towards the window. Ronan was curled up against Stuart's chest, a happy smile on her face as she reached out to touch one of the bubbles. The smile was replaced with a squeal of happiness when it popped, the soap sprinkling over the pair of them but neither minded.

The doctor had stated that sensory activities would lull their daughter out of the vulnerable cocoon that she'd found herself in. The two men had tried everything. They'd bought a piano for the large town house and Stuart had taken up playing the odd note or tune with the girl every night. Ronan would be sat on his knee, her hands on his as she felt the way his hands moved over the keys and listening to the sound as well as feeling the vibrations. Eventually, Ronan had started to hum along with the tune and Stuart found himself considering the possibility that a singing voice was hidden inside their quiet little girl.

Each attempt at bringing her out of her shell had been a success and now she was the first one to instigate contact with either of the two men, the first to start a timid conversation and her laughter was always there, and it was a beautiful sound that lit up the entire house.

The doctor had stated that they'd achieved their goal and they no longer needed to participate in the activities. Stuart, however, had decided that he wanted to continue them. The bond that had formed between Ronan and he throughout these activities had intensified and he wasn't prepared to lose it just because the doctor said she no longer needed them.

So that's how they found themselves here, lying on a bed and staring at rainbow coloured bubbles. Ronan, beside him, was humming the rainbow song because they hadn't yet managed to tease her singing voice out but Stuart knew it would arrive eventually. Snuggling up against him, she pressed a kiss to the side of his neck before standing up on the bed, the bubbles wrapping around her as she twirled. Stuart stared at her face, his grin wide as she giggled happily as the bubbles popped against her skin.

"If she was a twenty year old girl, I'd think this was a por...," Stuart glared over at his husband at the door and he just smiled, "a bad movie." He auto-corrected before stepping into the room. Ronan jumped off the bed and into his arms, her head thrown back as she squealed while Ewan spun her round.

Eventually, the two of them collapsed down on the bed with a thud causing Stuart to roll his eyes but didn't chastise them. Slowly, they both moved it up the bed and Ewan leant over their daughter to press a kiss against Stuart's lips.

"Daddy! I can't see the bubbles!" Ewan just made a noise before lying back on the bed, Ronan in the middle and Stuart still in his position.

They were nowhere near a picture perfect family but, in Stuart's opinion, they were pretty damned close. How many other men in their positions, one a detective and the other a supposed gang lord, would be content to lie on their bed, snuggled up with their beautiful daughter and staring at bubbles? Linking his fingers with Ewan above Ronan's head, he settled back on the bed with a content smile on his face.


	3. Cushion

**AUTHORS NOTE: So Lee is kicking my ass at this whole 'alphabet challenge' so let's see if I can try and catch up! Here's C! The story isn't as powerful as I wanted it to be but it slightly links us back to 'Skeletons in the Closet'.**

**DISCLAIMER: The characters that you don't recognise are mine; well you do recognise them but you know.**

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**[Cushion]**

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"What the hell is this?"

Stuart didn't even need to turn round to know what his husband was talking about; he could hear it in the man's voice. He'd found the cushion that Ronan had found earlier in their quest in the attic, a task that Stuart had avoided for the past five years but had decided today was the day, and she'd moved it down to her room. As soon as he'd seen it, Stuart had known that it was a bad idea but the look on his young daughter's face made him change his mind and he'd left it. She had skipped into her room, placed it in the centre of her bed and then had returned to helping out in the attic. He realised he should have warned his husband of the new piece of interior decorating their daughter's bedroom but he hadn't known how to bring up the conversation, so he'd left it.

"It's a cushion."

"I know god damned well that it's a cushion," Ewan growled slamming the offensive item down on the kitchen table but his finger remained pointing at it, "What the hell is it doing in Ronan's room?"

"She wanted it."

"_She _wanted it?" The one of his voice sounded like he didn't quite believe his husband so Stuart finally turned to look at him, his eyebrows raised at the slight accusation in the man's voice. As if sensing his error, Ewan finally calmed down and held up his hands in an "I surrender" stance before looking back at the cushion. "Did she even understand what the..."

"No Ewan, she doesn't. She just saw what it said and assumed that it belonged to her like any little girl would."

"But it's blue," even though he knew that would make no real difference to their daughter. Being raised in a homosexual household blurred all gender stereotypical lines and she was a more adaptable girl thanks to it.

The cushion cover had been stitched by Krystal, Ronan's mother, just after she'd married Ewan. Once upon a time, the cushion had been a turquoise colour but now it was nearly grey thanks to dust and dirt but the detail was still clear. Krystal had stitched a daisy chain along the edges and in the middle was the word 'Ronan', beautifully written out in swirly handwriting. It was obvious that the cushion should have been a present for Ewan's brother, a hint to the start of their romantic relationship, but it had never made it to him. After their deception, Ewan had gone to throw all their belongings away but had stored it away in the attic instead. Even after they'd bought this new town house, he couldn't bring himself to throw it away so it had come with them and he sighed as he looked at the cushion.

"I found it after she left me..."

"Ewan," Stuart started knowing that Ewan always found it hard to talk about his family, especially the love affair that happened between his wife and brother. "and I knew straight away that I'd been stupid to believe that she'd ever love me. Ronan was the handsome one, right? Everyone loved Ronan." Reaching out to grab hold of the cushion, his fingertip traced the intimate and detailed stitching of the cushion. "You can see just from each tiny stitch of this that she loved him. She'd have never done something like this for me."

"No," Stuart said moving over and taking the cushion out of his hands, "baby, that's not true. She may have never given you anything material but Krystal gave you something much more special than a silly old cushion. This," he turned the cushion over that it was now in both their hands and shrugged his shoulders, "can be thrown away or lost but we have our beautiful daughter that will be with us forever."

Ewan just smiled as he looked down at the cushion, his eyes filling with tears as he nodded his head at his husband's words before sighing. "I hate that you're so good at this." He whispered as he leant into press a kiss against the man's lips. Stepping away, he started to slowly unbutton the cushion case and peeled it off. Stuart stared at him. "If my daughter is going to have this cushion, it's going on a powerful wash to get all the dust and stuff off it. God knows what..."

Stuart just laughed as he realised that was OCD!Ewan rearing his head again and just nodded his head, his arms wrapping around his husband's waist. "You're an amazing man, Mr McIntyre-Fraser." Pressing a haste kiss to Ewan's lips, he moved so that the man could get to the washing machine.


	4. Dream

**Authors Note: Holy fudge, was this a hard prompt to write or what?! It's a case of take it... JUST TAKE IT!**

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Silently stepping into his bedroom, he checked that his husband was asleep before he continued through their room so he could slip into their adjoining bathroom and quietly closing the door with a soft click. Sliding down to the bathroom floor, he covered his face with his hands and felt the tears that had been threatening to fall since he had left McIntyre's. It was very rare that Ewan allowed his emotions to take control, and today was one of those rare days.

"Baby," he heard someone whisper and he stiffened. This was one of the reasons he should have stayed at McIntyre's and cried his eyes out. How did he forget that Stuart was a trained detective that noticed every little thing?

"Leave me alone," he pleaded as he buried his face into his knees, his arms wrapping around them to keep them up. He didn't care that he was being an immature brat about this situation. He just wanted to be alone. He wanted to sit in the bathroom so that he could cry his eyes out and maybe once that was done, he'd feel the rage he knew would come and destroy the bathroom before having to tidy it all up again. Even if he caused it, the mess would still bring him to his knees in a panic attack.

"No way in hell is that going to happen, Ewan." Stuart growled taking hold of his husband's shoulder and twisting him around so they were facing each other. "What happened?"

"Did you ever have a dream when you were growing up, Stuart?"

Confusion etched over his husband's face as he analysed the question. "A dream?"

"Yeah, you know. Something you really wanted to do."

"I wanted to be a priest," he confessed causing Ewan to smile through his tears as he realised that Stuart couldn't have gone further in the opposite direction to his dream. "I was abandoned by my birth mother, my adoptive parents were controlling and I thought God would be the one to lead me to salvation but that didn't last very long."

"I would have hated it if you had become a priest."

Stuart laughed as he ran his hands through his partner's hair, his head shaking. "Ewan, our circles would never have crossed. When do you ever go to church?"

"When someone has died," he admitted truthfully.

"Exactly," Stuart smiled as he used his thumb pads to rub at the man's face. "Now tell me, handsome. What's causing your sadness tonight?" And then as soon as he said it, Stuart remembered why. Today was the anniversary of not only Ronan's death, but also Krystal's. It was some sick form of romance that they had died on the same day, just several years apart. Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead against his husbands and pressed a kiss against his lips, the taste of salt just making them grasp at each other tighter.

"I had dreams, you know. I wanted to go to university and make something of myself." Pressing another kiss against his husband's lips, he leant back and closed his eyes as he felt the sting of tears again. This time, though, they weren't of sadness. They were of anger and of hate. "I loved them both so much and yet they completely my life."

"Come now, baby..."

"No, let me finish." Stuart nodded his head, his lips being closed tightly as he looked at his husband. "But at the same time, I have no right to feel anger towards them because thanks to this life I met you, and Ronan also showed up. So do I have the right to feel angry? To feel as if my dreams have been completely destroyed?"

A few moments of silence passed and Stuart realised he could now talk. "Baby, have you ever thought that maybe you have achieved one of your dreams?"

"What?"

"Well every child has them. Did you not dream that you would meet the person you loved? Have a child? Play house? Have a family that completely adores you?" He asked and Ewan's tears slowed gently, his hand reaching out to take hold of Stuart's face as he pressed a hungry kiss against his lips. Only this man would be able to make him see sense of any situation, make him see the bright side; his very own Pollyanna. "Dreams change, baby, and I'd like to think yours changed for the better."

Laughing through his now dried up tears, Ewan nodded his head. "Oh yes, I don't know what I'd do without this dream or the many more that will come."

"Amen," Stuart said crawling onto Ewan's lap, his hand on his chest as the sadness dissipated between them and he teased kisses across his husband's tear stained face.


	5. Edinburgh

**AUTHORS NOTE: Em, so this is the shortest prompt I've ever written AND it actually has NOTHING to do with the prompt (minus a slight mention) but it does have something to do with the fact I'M TWENTY ONE TODAY! And I am actually going to do the shot mission – even if it kills me, and actually it might.**

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**[Edinburgh]**

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"Stop being such a fucking party pooper."

"I didn't want to come out in the first place so I think that allows me the rights to be a party pooper."

"It's your party."

"Again, a party I didn't want."

Stuart did not know why he was arguing with his best friend, Robbie, because he knew his argument was going to land on deaf ears. The other boy had insisted that for his twenty first, and because his parents had recently started to alienate him, that it would be – and he alone – that would help the boy celebrate his birthday. He had even swore off women for the night, which had surprised Stuart more than the fact Robbie wanted to spend his extra cash on a day trip up to Edinburgh.

"Can we really call it a party?"

"What?" Robbie asked turning to look at his best friend, his head moving slightly to the beat of the music.

"Can we really call it a party when it's just you and I?"

"Well if you hadn't been so against the idea of an actual party I would have invited the team, idjit." Robbie chastised before clicking his fingers and pointing them at the bar; a clear gesture that they were going to get a drink. Rolling his eyes, Stuart just followed.

When two shots and a vodka pop ended up in front of him, he just glared at his best friend. Robbie also had two shots but one of his was in the air as he looked at Robbie. "Happy birthday, and may they all be as amazing as this one."

Stuart just laughed as he shot back the drink that he'd lifted before quickly drinking the second one. "How many is that now?" He said referring to their mission of drinking twenty one shots to celebrate his age.

"Seven," and Stuart actually felt his stomach lurch at the fact he still had fourteen shots to go. "I'll get us two more," but before he could, Robbie was intercepted by a little ginger thing with a coy smile on her face and Stuart knew Robbie's promise would now have diminished.

Shaking his head, he was about to lean over the bar and order a drink when a shot appeared in front of him. Turning to the side, he found himself staring into summer green grass eyes that his heart beating faster and, if he could see them, he bet his pupils had dilated at the beauty that was standing afore him. "I couldn't help but overhear that it was your birthday so happy birthday," he insisted holding out the shot.

Even at twenty one, Stuart shook his head. "No thank you. I don't take drinks from strangers. Even strangers with pretty green eyes," and he blushed the minute the sentence left his mouth.

"Well even pretty strangers with green eyes can be dodgy, birthday boy." The guy grinned, the comment going over his head as if he was complimented all the time and Stuart wondered why he felt irked at this unofficial statement. "I'm Ewan McIntyre,"

"Well Ewan McIntyre; I'm Stuart Fraser and I thank you for my birthday shot." Taking the drink, he downed it quickly and laughed as some of the liquid slipped down his chin, his eyes twinkling with both alcohol and amusement.

His new friend just smiled before leaning out and using his thumb to wipe the alcohol away, and going into his mouth as soon as he'd done that. "It was my pleasure, Stuart Fraser."

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**P.S I like the concept of Stuart and Ewan having met before, I might infiltrate this into a story one day... watch this space.**


	6. Flame

Moving into the living room, Stuart froze as he saw the living room filled with flickering candles. "Ewan," he shouted once he had recovered and slammed the door shut as loud as he could but thanks to his new found jelly limbs the door shut meekly.

Ever since Robbie's accident a few years back at a bonfire party, Stuart had been terrified of fire. Once they had made it home with the two children, he had gone through the house and had emptied every room of its contents that were flammable such as candles, matches and lighters. The fear of how quickly something could set alight had terrified him. They had a child. What if it had been Ronan?

"Baby, what is it?" Ewan asked moving into the living room and seeing the horrified look in his partner's eyes.

"Where did all this... Why is this... What the hell is going on in here?" He finally demanded after mincing his question and realising that he could not find the right one to ask.

"I thought it was time to get you over your fear. Ronan is getting to an age now where she wants bubble baths or silly incense sticks or scented candles in her bedroom."

"So you thought that the answer was immersion therapy?" But he realised as he shouted at his partner that he was fear was starting to disappear.

Taking a step towards Stuart, Ewan reached out and took hold of his partner's hand. "What happened to Robbie was a fluke accident and something that he hasn't let it take control of his life any more than it did back then." Pulling his partner against him, he started to sway them together as if there was music playing around them and Stuart could not help but laugh. "Darling, it's just a little flame. It's a controlled flame that will only hurt if you don't keep the control."

Instead of cracking a joke about Ewan liking to have control, Stuart just smiled and shook his head as he realised that his partner was correct. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was a silly little flame. "And isn't this romantic?" Ewan asked and Stuart laughed.

"I do feel like we're in some cheesy romance movie that Ronan makes us watch."

Ewan just laughed as he pressed a kiss to his partner's lips and Stuart did not pay any more attention to the flickering flames surrounding them.

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**AUTHORS NOTE:**

Once again, I think I've stretched the prompt word. Lee is writing beautiful serious fiction with the prompts that I provided her whereas mine are all light hearted nonsense. I think that's why we're beautifully matched!

As you can see, this is a slight tag to my years old story 'Bonfire Catastrophes'.

In other news, anyone doing Nano this year?


	7. Grass

**[Grass]**

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There was one thing Stuart hated most about the summer and that was that the garden needed to be taken care of – and regularly.

Due to having always been at work and owning a flat, Stuart had never developed a green thumb after he had left his parents house at the grand old age of eighteen so when Ewan had insisted that they had a garden he had felt his heart sink.

Did Ewan expect him to slave over the garden and make sure it was tidy?

Could Ewan be that kind of guy that actually measured the length of each blade of grass?

The suburban lifestyle was not Stuart's idea of heaven but it was his husband's, and a garden did mean that his daughter would have somewhere safe to play as well as the dog she had been plaguing them about ever since Robbie had bought Jamie one.

So Stuart had put his miseries behind him about the grass and had encouraged the buying of the house, and the dog, and the oversized play set that they had bought Ronan even though she would out grow it as quickly as they had bought it.

And thankfully, Stuart learnt that Ewan enjoyed having the garden as his vice to letting out his frustrations.

No, he did not expect Stuart to slave over the garden but he did like to grass to appear it was the same length – he was yet to pull out a ruler and actually the measure a blade but if Stuart ever saw him do that then he might just shoot his partner.

There was one thing Stuart learnt more though.

The first summer day when Ewan had gone out to work in the garden he had donned an old pair of jeans that had holes in the knees, a tight white vest top that clung to every muscle and a smile that could light up the world. He worked like a trooper out in the garden for hours, with Ronan and their puppy running around him but at a safe distance.

Standing at the window with a drink in his hands, Stuart admired his husband in the sweat soaked tee shirt with a warm smile on his face. He could see now why ladies of leisure had affairs with the gardeners. It was a cliché but they were hot.

And there was nothing more appealing than the smell of sweat and freshly mowed grass that filled the living room when his partner walked into the living room, a lazy smile on his face as he came over to Stuart and pressed a kiss against his lips and told him that the lawn was done for another week before slipping upstairs to the shower.

Stuart smiled. Oh yes, he could get used to having a lawn.

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**AUTHORS NOTE: **

**I swear to God, I am struggling more and more with these prompts (damn you, Lee!) but here I am with 'G'. **


	8. Hell

Ewan leant on the door frame of the kitchen and watched as has husband paced the length of the living room window, his hands raking through his blonde curls as his other hand tapped an irregular pattern against the thigh of his jeans. He knew that he should say something or at least intervene before he wore away the expensive rug that he was walking across.

The two men had been out shopping with their daughter when they had been accosted by Stuart's Mother and a group of women from the church that they were a part of. They had taken one look at the two men holding hands and had immediately turned to look at his Mother for an explanation. She had laughed it off before excusing them all, stating that she would meet up with them later and had remained standing there in front of her son with a fake smile on her face as she watched her friends leave. And once they had gone, she had let rip on the pair of them for openly parading their 'disease' around.

"_It's not bad enough that your Father and I know that our beloved son is going to hell but you have to make it known to the rest of the parish too? How will we ever show our faces again? Just because your soul is damned to hell, don't take everyone else's with you."_

However, before Stuart could argue their case, she had already slipped past them to join her friends. Stuart had watched after her, his eyes glossing over with unshed tears before he had turned his head to the side; avoiding his partner's gaze; and whispered that he wanted to go home.

Ewan had tried to argue, but had noticed that Stuart had already let go of his hand and was starting to walk away.

That was how they had ended up here in this situation and Ewan watched as Stuart finally came to a stop in the middle of the windows, his back still to Stuart but he could still see that his partner's stiff stance. "Do you know as a child I was terrified of Hell?"

Ewan pushed himself away from the door frame and started towards his husband. "And I wouldn't be surprised by that. You were raised strict Catholic, just like my family tried to raise me but my life was already hell."

Stuart nodded in agreement as he turned to look at his husband, accepting the embrace with a warm smile. "I know," stroking his husband's cheek, he pressed a kiss to his lips before sighing. "I suppose I am no longer afraid of hell if I'm living in sin, right?"

"This isn't sin," Ewan growled before pulling his husband close against him. "But I could show you what sin really is, husband of mine, and I'm pretty damned sure that you would enjoy every minute of it."

Stuart just burst out laughing before wrapping his arms around his husband's neck. "I'll add gambling to my list of sins and put money on the fact that I most definitely would," and his laughter was cut off by Ewan taking hold of his lips.

If the penance for sharing an amazing life with a man and child that you love was hell then sign Stuart up right now, he did not care and he would take his punishment.

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**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**I struggled with this one. I'm not going to lie. It sucks. Enjoy though.**


	9. Indigo

**[Indigo]**

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"How could you do such a stupid thing?"

The stupid thing in question was their daughter had come home from a sleepover and her beautiful auburn hair was now a deep shade of indigo. She had insisted that it was meant to come out black but something had gone wrong. The thought, however, had not been as comforting as she had thought it would be.

"What's the problem? All the girls in my class have dyed their hair."

Ever since she had hit the troublesome teenage years, Stuart and Ewan had found themselves pulling their hair out trying to raise her. It seemed no matter what ground rules they set in place, she would find some way to break them and would find pleasure in doing so.

"I don't care what all the other girls in your year are doing, Ronan. You are my daughter and I remember us having a conversation where I explicitly stated that you could not dye your hair."

The last five words were said slowly and deliberately by Ewan and Ronan just sighed, flicking back the offending hair over her shoulder as she glared at him. The pair of them looked like twins in their anger. Stuart had learnt to only join in when it looked like there was a dire need for a referee.

"You just want me to look like Mum forever. Why torment yourself? She was a bitch, right?"

And here was the time for the referee.

"Ronan, go to your room." Stuart commanded calmly, pushing away from the wall where he had been resting unaware of how Ewan was going to react to the accusation. Ewan just glowered at her and Stuart waited, without humour, for the steam to start pouring from his ears. Ronan opened her mouth as if to argue but Stuart just raised his hand, silencing her. She let out a noise of frustration before slamming up stairs. "Ewan," he whispered resting his hands against his husband's shoulders.

"She just knows exactly what buttons to push, doesn't she?"

"She's a teenage girl. It's built into their chemistry," he squeezed his partner's shoulders lightly before sighing. "It'll wash out in ten washes."

"I beg your pardon?" Ewan asked whipping around to look at his partner.

"The hair dye she's used. It'll wash out in a couple of washes. You can smell the fumes in the air which means it's a cheap wash in one."

"That little devil,"

"Pushing the buttons," Stuart insisted and smiled as Ewan bowed out of the room, obviously on his way to apologise to his daughter before probably forcing her into the shower – several times. He chuckled. It was never dull in this house.

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**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**So this is fast forwarded about ten years from the last one.**

**Anyone noticed that my writing has got less serious and more fluffy? Yeah, me too. I'll fix that. **


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